Frequently Asked Questions

Podcast Garden is a simple yet powerful way to get your content onto the internet and make it available to downstream distribution outlets like iTunes and Google. Podcast Garden allows users to upload podcasts onto world class servers, giving them their own URL at Podcast Garden and establishing a unique RSS feed URL that is valid and compatible at the iTunes Store and Google Play.

"a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically" - Google

"A web host, or web hosting service provider, is a business that provides the technologies and services needed for the website or webpage to be viewed in the Internet. Websites are hosted, or stored, on special computers called servers." - Website.com Beginners Guide

To maximize podcast visibility on smart phones, tablets, and other mobile devices we strongly recommend sharing your Podcast Garden RSS feed URL at iTunes and Google Play. It's free and your valid RSS will automatically be created from your Podcast Garden account information to conform to universal metadata requirements. see Submitting Your Podcast to the iTunes Store, and Submitting Your Podcast to Google Play

A number of free audio and video recording devices can be downloaded onto your computer over the internet. Audacity is one of our favorites. It is robust but requires some expertise in learning what the software can do. Podcast Garden does not provide a recording software because there are so many other resources available for this purpose.

You will receive a verification email at the email account used during registration.

If you don't receive the verification email within a few minutes, check your email "Spam" folder.

Once your podcast account is set up, and you are logged in, you will be directed to your "Podcast Home" page.

At the Podcast Home page you have the option to Add or Edit podcast episodes, and to customize your podcast settings (cover image and description)

FREE account enables podcasters to create their own podcast channel, to upload one episode per month, and to establish an RSS feed URL that is valid for submission to iTunes and Google Play.

UPGRADE account allows users to upload unlimited episodes, access Support services, and use Beta Analytics to track their podcast activity. You can currently Upgrade for a yearly fee of only $29.99! Or a monthly fee of only $2.99 Click the "Upgrade" button at the top of the Login or Podcast Home pages.

Click on "(settings)" near the bottom of the Podcast Home page.

Fill in your Podcast Account details: (don't forget to use the SAVE button at the bottom of the form)

Podcast Account Name - Enter the title of your program as you want it to appear to the public. This will be the name of your podcast channel. If you have an website for this channel information the title of your podcast garden channel should be the same as the title of your website.

Description - Enter the longer description of your program. (Can be several paragraphs)
Website Link - Podcaster's main URL, if any. (Not required)
iTunes Store URL - If you have an iTunes Store account, copy and paste the URL from your browser bar. (Not required. see How to set up an iTunes Store account)

Category - Scroll around the Category Box and click the radio-button next to the category that best applies to your podcast. (Click only one. These are the standard categories used by iTunes)

Image - Click the "Browse" button to search for an image to upload from your files. NOTE: To be eligible for featuring on the iTunes Store, a podcast must have 1400 x 1400 pixel cover art in JPG or PNG format using RGB color space. The image must end in '.jpg', '.jpeg' or '.png'. Avoid pixelation (graininess or checking). Any text should be legible on all devices.

Author - Enter the creators publication name of record for copyright and metadata.

Email - Enter your public email address where you would like to receive audience responses. (Not required)

Keywords - Enter keywords separated by spaces. (These are used for metadata and search words)

Copyright - Enter "Copyright" and the four digit year of publication followed by your name or the name of the organization that owns the rights to the podcast content. (for metadata and copyright)
Example: Copyright 2008, John Doe

Language - Use the dropdown list to choose the primary language of your podcast.

Explicit - Podcast Garden is a family friendly internet site. If your podcast contains explicit sexual imagery, profanity, violence or other adult content you must answer "Yes."
Failure to declare explicit content will result in account suspension or cancellation upon discovery by podcast garden, iTunes, and other downstream service providers. see also Podcast Content Restrictions.
NOTE: Explicit cover images are strictly prohibited and will be removed upon discovery resulting in account suspension or cancellation.

Save Changes - This will begin the file upload process and save your podcast episode. Do not refresh or navigate away from the page. You can return to this Settings page to update your information or to change your cover image.

New Feed URL - Podcasters occasionally need to move their feed from one location to another. To do so without losing subscribers, you must convey the change directly to all users who are subscribed to your feed. Be sure to maintain the tag for at least four weeks to ensure that most subscribers have attempted to download your most recent episode and have thereby received the new URL. Click the New Feed URL link to change the feed address.

Podcast Garden is not the place for illegal, provocative, nude, or pornographic content. Please do not post content that promotes hatred, public endangerment, or incites violence as its primary objective. Mark "Explicit" if your content might lead to the harm of minors by their participation in dangerous acts or in situations requiring an adult level of technical skill or judgment.
Copyrighted material. Don't post copyrighted content that you don't own without attribution, or permission as expressly required by the copyright holder. Exceptions - video snippets; music tracks (still give attribution accept for brief snippets such as interludes, intros and outros)
Pseudo-podcasters that use text to describe a product or service, with little or no media content, will be subject to removal unless significant media content is added within 90 days.

Podcast Garden ("us", "we", or "our") operates http://www.podcastgarden.com (the "Site"). This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information we receive from users of the Site.
We use your Personal Information only for providing and improving the Site. By using the Site, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.
Information Collection And Use
While using our Site, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to your name ("Personal Information").

Log Data
Like many site operators, we collect information that your browser sends whenever you visit our Site ("Log Data").
This Log Data may include information such as your computer's Internet Protocol ("IP") address, browser type, browser version, the pages of our Site that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages and other statistics.

In addition, we may use third party services such as Google Analytics that collect, monitor and analyze this
The Log Data section is for businesses that use analytics or tracking services in websites or apps.

Communications
We may use your Personal Information to contact you with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information.
The Communications section is for businesses that may contact users via email (email newsletters) or other methods.

Cookies
Cookies are files with small amount of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a web site and stored on your computer's hard drive. Like many sites, we use "cookies" to collect information. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Site.

Security
The security of your Personal Information is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
Changes To This Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy is effective as of 8-1-2016 and will remain in effect except with respect to any changes in its provisions in the future, which will be in effect immediately after being posted on this page. We reserve the right to update or change our Privacy Policy at any time and you should check this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of the Service after we post any modifications to the Privacy Policy on this page will constitute your acknowledgment of the modifications and your consent to abide and be bound by the modified Privacy Policy. If we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you either through the email address you have provided us, or by placing a prominent notice on our website.

Contact Us If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us. See privacy policy for updates

You can pay with any major credit card. We do not store or view any credit/debit card data. All credit card payments are processed through PayPal, however you do not need a PayPal account to pay for a subscription.

Transactions on our website are processed by our payment service provider, PayPal, who encrypt your financial data during checkout using SSL ("Secure Socket Layer") technology with an encryption key length of 128 bits (the highest level commercially available) so that it is not visible by us or by third parties over the internet. You can be confident that the information you are sending from your computer to PayPal's servers via our website stays private, confidential and secure.

Go to "Validate a podcast." (this is iTunes "Step 4" - podcast garden did all the work for you!)

Click on the plus symbol "+" to add your first podcast.

Type in or copy and paste your RSS feed URL (your valid RSS is displayed at the bottom of your podcast garden Podcast Home page)

Click "Validate."

Podcasts Connect will then display the "Prepared for Submission" status and a preview of your podcast.

After reviewing your podcast you can submit it in the New Podcast page.

Once you have submitted your first podcast to the iTunes Store, new podcast garden episodes will automatically be uploaded to iTunes. Sweet! (The time depends on the iTunes RSS sweep) use this link for your first iTunes submission or to access the iTunes Help pages: https://itunespartner.apple.com/podcasts/overview

NOTE: You can prevent Google from future access to your RSS podcast feed by using their "Block" feature, otherwise new podcast garden podcasts in your RSS feed will be discovered and available at Google Play.

LET'S GROW TOGETHER!*
Podcast Garden currently features non-explicit podcast images at the bottom of the Home page and the Features page, as well as posting podcasts at Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
During this Organic Growth Cross-promotion campaign Podcast Garden will give special attention to podcasters who mention Podcast Garden during their podcast. Podcastgarden.com receives thousands of visitors each day, increasing podcasters' internet presence and visibility for featured podcasts.
The more Podcast Garden grows, the more exposure our featured podcasts receive.
Podcasters who mention Podcast Garden during their podcast will be given priority placement among our featured images and posts.** Just let us know the episode(s) and the minute-mark, intro, or close where Podcast Garden is mentioned.

[if you use Podcast Garden RSS for iTunes, Google Play, etc.] - "We (program name) _______________________ use Podcast Garden to host and distribute this program to iTunes, (Google Play, etc.)"

"If you've ever thought about creating your own podcast, you need to check out Podcast Garden. You'll be surprised how fast and easy it is to get started. Just go to podcastgarden.com and check out their free and paid podcast hosting services."

OR - Create your own shout-out. It can be a mention in passing or your personal recommendation. You can mention our name, our website, or any of the services listed at the website.

Let us know about your shout-out at: contact@podcastgarden.com. Feature positions and placement on our Facebook page will be based on the history of shout-outs: (1) one-time, (2) three consecutive programs, (3) regular mentions - please include reference to case 1,2,or 3 in your email notification along with the typical placement within the podcast.

*Organic Growth Cross-promotion is based on hypothetical expectations. Podcast Garden makes no prediction or warranty that participation in the Organic Growth Cross-promotion campaign will result in actual or measurable benefit to any individual podcaster.

**Qualifying Organic Growth Cross-promotion feature image displays and posts will be placed into the queue for display on the Home and Features pages, and on Facebook as a post or as an image. Please allow several days for lag time for qualifying podcasts to be displayed.

Use the Browse boxes on the Home and Browse Podcast pages to search by key words. Try typing in the most concise word or words that describe the topic of interest. A list of podcasts relating to your search will appear. Scroll down to view all the podcasts pertaining to your search.
If no match if found you may receive an error message. If this occurs use your browse refresh of the Back arrow to return to the search box.
Currently, podcasts with explicit content are not listed in the Browse Podcasts page listing but are still available and searchable from Google and other search programs.

Forgot User Name or Password? Use the links on the Login page to recover your login information.
Change Password, Contact Email and other account information by clicking "My Profile" at the top your podcast garden page.
Remember to press "save" after making profile changes.

Beta Analytics is available to full service accounts. The Analytics page shows a graph of your most recent podcasts reported directly from the hosting server.
Analytics is still under development and will soon show a broader display of your podcast activity.

Podcast Account Name - Enter the title of your program as you want it to appear to the public. This will be the name of your podcast channel. If you have an website for this channel information the title of your podcast garden channel should be the same as the title of your website.

Description - Enter the longer description of your program. (Can be several paragraphs)
Website Link - Podcaster's main URL, if any. (Not required)
iTunes Store URL - If you have an iTunes Store account, copy and paste the URL from your browser bar. (Not required. see How to set up an iTunes Store account)

Category - Scroll around the Category Box and click the radio-button next to the category that best applies to your podcast. (Click only one. These are the standard categories used by iTunes)

Image - Click the "Browse" button to search for an image to upload from your files. NOTE: To be eligible for featuring on the iTunes Store, a podcast must have 1400 x 1400 pixel cover art in JPG or PNG format using RGB color space. The image must end in '.jpg', '.jpeg' or '.png'. Avoid pixelation (graininess or checking). Any text should be legible on all devices.

Author - Enter the creators publication name of record for copyright and metadata.

Email - Enter your public email address where you would like to receive audience responses. (Not required)

Keywords - Enter keywords separated by spaces. (These are used for metadata and search words)

Copyright - Enter "Copyright" and the four digit year of publication followed by your name or the name of the organization that owns the rights to the podcast content. (for metadata and copyright)
Example: Copyright 2008, John Doe

Language - Use the dropdown list to choose the primary language of your podcast.

Explicit - Podcast Garden is a family friendly internet site. If your podcast contains explicit sexual imagery, profanity, violence or other adult content you must answer "Yes."
Failure to declare explicit content will result in account suspension or cancellation upon discovery by podcast garden, iTunes, and other downstream service providers. see also Podcast Content Restrictions.
NOTE: Explicit cover images are strictly prohibited and will be removed upon discovery resulting in account suspension or cancellation.